“From Knowledge Grows Acceptance.”

change

The Winter Solstice has been a time of celebration, merriment, and relaxation across cultures for millennia. The shift into winter has always brought a turning inwards for myself. The change from Sagittarius to Capricorn is a great way to use this energy for forward movement, instead of downward spiral. This is a great meditation for the Solstice, the couple of days before or after, or whenever you need a boost of inspiration and drive. If you are solitary and prefer to listen to the meditation, you will find that option below.

Find a comfortable position where you won’t be disturbed. Close your eyes and feel where you are making contact with the ground. Feel a root come down from your feet or the base of your spine and burrow into the cold soil below. Feel the hibernating animals all around you, tucked in for the winter. Let the safety of the earth enfold you as you let go and fall deeper into yourself and the arms of Mother Earth.

You are in a winter field at night. You see a centaur, half man, half horse emerge from the tree line. He approaches you with eyes that are both wise and wild and smiles a confident and knowing smile.

“Where is your passion leading you next?” he asks as he takes off his quiver of arrows and hands them down to you.

What comes to your mind first? Do you embrace it or doubt it? Let other passions arise and be aware of your ego’s reaction to them. Does intuition or fear hold you back from any? Are some on fire, already filling you with excitement at their prospect?

See each arrow as a potential direction that you can explore, and choose the one that is singing loudest to your heart. As you pull it from the quiver, the arrow-head bursts into flame. The centaur smiles at you again and he hands you his bow, pointing off to the distant mountains and says, “Take your aim and fire.”

You notch the arrow and pull the bow back. You take a deep breath as you aim towards the mountains and as you exhale you let the arrow loose. You both watch it zoom across the darkened landscape until it hits high up on a mountain.

The centaur nods in approval and reaches his hand down to you saying, “Jump on, let’s go get it!”. You swing up onto his back and he takes off at lighting speed in the direction of the fire you lit on the mountain.

You are full of excitement and elation as you gallop across the land at an amazing speed. You keep your eyes on the blaze and you feel your passion growing as you near it. How does it feel to run unwaveringly to your dream?

Sooner than you thought possible, you’re at the base of the mountain. You notice a goat standing on a rock next to the path that leads up the mountain. The centaur turns to you and says, “This is as far as I can take you, he’ll show you the rest of the way. Remember your excitement when the path gets challenging. The view from the top is worth the work.” You slide down from his back and approach the gruff mountain goat, who with barely any acknowledgment, turns abruptly, jumping from his perch and trotting up the rock path ahead.

You take a deep breath as you gaze up the path. You see high above you the flickering of the flame you lit. How do you feel standing at the base of the mountain, looking up to where you long to be? Honor that feeling, and then start your ascent.

The path quickly becomes very steep. You’re thankful for the mountain goat leading you. He finds a way over any challenge, taking only a second to assess the situation and then calmly finding a solution. Any resistance you were feeling melts away as you take on his determination, finding a way up or around any difficult terrain you encounter. Anytime exhaustion begins to creep in, you shift your gaze from the path in front of you, to the glow above and you remember the excitement you felt rushing towards that blaze, when anything seemed possible.

You’re keeping pace with the mountain goat now, and where he seemed serious at first, you now see through his determination to the joy that is rising as the fire gets brighter and brighter as you climb. He is proud of the work you’ve done and so are you. You find yourself smiling as the warmth of self-confidence rises up through your solar plexus, up through your heart and fills your whole being. As you bask in that glow, you crest a peak and see your fire burning right in front of you. Feel the exuberance of success! You’ve made it! Take a moment to sit with the fire, giving gratitude, releasing any fears, and receiving any messages.

When you are ready, you shift your gaze from the fire to the horizon and notice that dawn is breaking. The sun has returned and the long night has ended. Feel the first rays hit your face and take that warmth and the warmth of the fire into your heart. Feel it grow and expand in your chest. Know that it will keep you warm through the cold months ahead as the sun, and you, get stronger and stronger each day.

Take a deep breath and feel the ground beneath you. Wiggle your fingers and toes, feeling yourself come back to your body. Keeping your eyes closed, wrap your arms around yourself and give yourself a big hug. Feel the warmth that is still glowing in your heart. Take a deep breath, release your arms, and open your eyes, knowing that you’re ready to take on anything to reach your dream.

Rebecca Coates is a Tarot reader, massage therapist and fire dancer. She has been in a coven for the past two years and is about to embark on a journey around the United States and is looking to meet other witches and lovers of magic. Visit beckycoateslmt.com to connect with her.

This book brought me back to my younger years when my imagination was at its best. The author’s magical world includes fairies, kings/queens, princes, ogres, underworld creatures, laws of light, crystals, and much more.

The story is set in a small town called Galvin Colve. In the woods called Castle Forest lies a majestic Crystal Kingdom that is hidden from human kind. Inside the Crystal Kingdom are advanced beings who have unfastened the truths of the universe. They are crystal fairies who call themselves Crysnix. The Crysnix grant wishes for humans in trouble and try to guide them in the right direction while the dark side tries to create chaos. This story has celebration, love, tragedy, and war. Everything that makes a great story.

I felt young and happy while reading this book. It has “teachable” moments interlaced with the story which I thought was a great aspect. It’s about love, working together and helping one another mixed with magic and emotion. This book actually helped me realize how caught up I have been in my adult life that I had forgotten my whimsical creative side of me and I miss that.

I believe this book is good for children and adults. It was an easy read. I loved the fact that the author used quotes in the beginning of the book as well as in front of each chapter. The quote that hit home most for me was:

“Do not lose hold of your dreams or aspirations.

For if you do, you may still exist but you have cease to live.”

-Henry David Thoreau

At times, I wish there was more detailed explanation involved, but not enough for me not to enjoy the adventure this book brought me on.

Amy Sweryda is a Legal Assistant for a Workers Compensation Attorney. She works at PSRB. Amy loves the products that she sellson the side, Safe, Natural and Essential products from health to beauty. Her website is https://www.amysweryda.arbonne.com. Amy, also, enjoys reading, animals & being outdoors.

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”

-George Bernard Shaw

In his CBC interview, historian Chris Kutarna argues that we are currently in the middle of a renaissance and a natural part of this is an element of disruption. Many of us live with a belief that things should stay the same. We stay locked into the nostalgic memories of times when we felt we understood life and how it works. The only truth I know is that life is always changing; it must adapt to grow. Because we are a part of nature, this is true for humans too. In the natural world, though seasons follow roughly the same pattern year after year, there are constant evolutionary changes happening at the DNA level to ensure that we can survive and thrive through the ages.

This past year, we’ve seen really massive shifts in the collective conscious of humans. The “Me Too” movement saw countless women and men coming forward with stories of sexual abuse, demanding an end to this type of violence in the world, for example. We saw things some of us never thought we’d see as a response to a shift in the world political climate this year. Some of these things brought out the shadowy part of the collective unconscious. While some people dismayed, I saw it as an opportunity to heal these shadow aspects of our species. After all, it is hard to heal something that hasn’t even been acknowledged. Bringing the shadow into plain view, though sometimes harrowing, can be a huge gift. Gael Carter and Marilyn Keffer speak about this in their guide to ceremony “Shamanic Ceremonies for a Changing World:”

“Some people like to focus only on their light aspects. Others pay more attention to the dark or ‘shadow’ aspects of self – those things that they have not yet healed. But the key for your self-growth and transformation is to attend to both your light and your shadow in a balanced way and to reconcile your shadow side, knowing that self-importance and self-pity are your greatest enemies and they can be vanquished.”

The psychologist Carl Jung popularized the idea of the shadow, the unconscious part of our psyches that we disown for various reasons. Sometimes this is because we don’t like those aspects of ourselves or then those qualities of ourselves are not validated in the culture we grow up in. If we don’t dig up those unconscious pieces, they often wreak havoc on our lives. If we don’t want them running the show, we have to go in and look at the lightest of our light (which many people also disown) and the darkest of our dark with compassion and ruthlessness at the same time–kindness for our humanity and decisiveness when it comes to changing our harmful patterns of behaviour, thoughts, and actions. Luckily, shamanic practice offers us tools in the way of drum journeys, working with totem animals, and ceremony to help us find those patterns and transform them.

In her landmark book, “Natural Born Shamans,” Imelda Almqvist speaks about the role that consciousness plays in healing wounding from the past: “I…teach the children ways of doing shadow work and how doing this heals all of our human relationships. This way, we learn that every story is ultimately one perspective, one point of view. At any given time we are free to choose another point of view. Choosing a different point of view will create a different story. Every story…can shape-shift…from a wounded or distorted perception to a healthier [one].” Many people see this as a type of revisionist practice where we change our histories at whim. However, what is to say that the way we interpreted these experiences in our past is the correct or best way? In every experience, we can choose to pull the power and victory we had from it. This does not negate the negatives that happened to us, but it does put us back in the driver’s seat in our lives. Sometimes, we need to stand up for ourselves and bring awareness to wrongs from the past in order to heal.

As a shamanic practitioner, I’ve learned that conflict is a natural part of life. In his book, “Lightningbolt,” Hyemeyhosts Storm speaks of the way the ancient Mayans saw confrontation: as one of the twenty Great Teachers of Life. Confrontation is not equivalent to aggression right out of the gate; it is about meeting an energy to bring a new awareness to a problem or issue. Confrontation has taught me to open up to inner truths and allow other perspectives in too. It’s taught me how to navigate conflict to come to a win-win for both sides. It’s also taught me to stand up for what is just. I’ve also learned that sometimes, win-wins cannot be found. Sometimes, people would rather hold a grudge than find a way to transform a situation. But even in those instances, I can still find a way to win inside of myself. I value that I have the ability to be all in and I have a high level of devotion to people, places, issues, and philosophies that I care about. I don’t give up easily. That, for me, is a win and a part of my light aspect that I honour.

This universal energy of chaos that we are in can be harnessed to promote transformation and change. I’ve had friends and family tell me that I’ve changed with that not-so-positive tone in their voices. I’ve had people admonish me for breaking implicit societal rules to favour my own health and sanity instead. Choices I’ve made to change harmful patterns in my own life inevitably cause ripples in the lives of those around me. Not everyone has been happy about those changes, but the truth is that I would be a shell of a person if I hadn’t been brave enough to make them. I refuse to live like a hostage to other peoples’ judgements of me. I’ve learned that I cannot change other peoples’ perspectives, but I can change my own. I can confront my own shadow continuously and shift the narratives I am telling myself about something.

In this time of sweeping changes, we can each learn to adapt, grow, and shapeshift out of old skin. Trying to control the arch of energy “out there” is futile. Becoming masters of our own inner worlds is the only thing we have full control over. We will make many mistakes along the way and things will most certainly not go the way we’d hoped or planned, but this is not a bad thing. We are all here to learn and grow. In 2018, my wish is that each of us can surrender to co-creating our lives with Spirit’s guidance. May we know ourselves so well that we can transform our shadows on a dime when called to. May we manifest the kind of world that can sustain life for many years to come.

Resources:

CBC’s The Current: “What the Renaissance Can Teach Us About Our Disruptive Age”

Jennifer Engrácio has been a student of shamanism since 2005. Jennifer is a certified teacher who has worked with children in many different education settings since 2001. She is a certified shamanic coach, reiki master, and lomilomi practitioner; in addition, she runs Spiral Dance Shamanics. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, she now lives in Calgary, Canada with her life partner.

Engrácio participated in self-publishing three books that are now available:

“The Magic Circle: Shamanic Ceremonies for the Child and the Child Within”

Spiralled Edges – New Beginnings and Imbolc Chaos and Change

I had an entire idea for a nice article about Imbolc and how it symbolises new beginnings in our lives. But I’ve torn that all up, in a figurative sense, because of all that is happening around the world in recent weeks.

The US has a new president, Great Britain is poised to leave the European Union, and refugees are fleeing yet another war in yet another country. Right now, the whole world is really chaotic, and really rather scary.

As human beings, we tend to not like chaos and change. Change can be dangerous our subconscious tells us. People who study such things can tell you that there is even a part of the brain, located in the amygdala that makes us feel really uncomfortable when there is too much change too quickly in our lives.

But change is also an inevitable part of living, and of dying. We are always in a constant state of change, as is the world around us and everything in it.

“She changes everything She touches, and everything She touches changes.”

Sometimes, change is subtle, and we don’t realise what has happened until we look back. Sometimes, change is in your face, drastic, and painful. It’s chaotic.

Newsfeeds online are filled with headlines designed to grab our attention and instil the greatest amount of fear. Clickbait we call it. Designed purely to get your attention and get you to click a link. It’s only when you’ve read halfway down that you realise the headline in no way matches the meat of the story

That chaos has to happen in order for change to occur. That is what we are seeing around the world today. Incredible chaos, scary chaos.

All of this chaos, all of this hatred and fear, the backlash against women and people of colour, against those who are disabled, those who follow a different religion or come from a different economic background? It’s not new. It’s always been around us, like an infection hidden deep within.

You don’t get rid of infection by burying it deeper in the body and pretending it doesn’t exist, which is what people have tried to do the past 50+ years, since the last time of massive global change in the 1960s and 70s. No, you get rid of infection by bringing it to the surface and removing it from the body.

That is what we are seeing now, and what we have been seeing in pockets for some time now. Pockets of stagnated slimy nasty hate-filled fear coming to a head and being released.

What does any of this mean for those of us who are Pagan?

It means making sure this infection deep within society continues to be expelled. It means taking time to hold sacred space around those who are being directly impacted by these changes. It means standing up and saying “No!” to prejudice and hatred. It’s doing what energy work, or magic, or healing we can do, not to bring order, but to help the deeply embedded, institutionalised infection be revealed and eradicated.

It means keeping our mouths shut, especially those of us who follow a Western European Pagan tradition, and allowing those from other traditions and cultures around the globe to speak their truth. People of colour, people who are Native American, people who have systematically been silenced in order to keep that infection hidden away have their stories to tell and we all need to actively listen.

We can’t take an attitude of “it isn’t happening to me” because we don’t know that it won’t be us tomorrow.

Come September when autumn winds start to chill our focus is on the harvest. I have friends from all over who are busy canning and preserving fruits and vegetables they have grown in their gardens. Those of us who don’t have access to a garden or allotment may be looking at ideas we planted in the spring. How have they grown? Are they ready for harvesting and completion?

The focus is very much on bringing in the harvest, whether literal or symbolic, but little attention is given to the other part of this season – this is a time of culling.

For the farmer, this meant looking at his livestock and making a decision on which would be worth keeping over the winter, and which would need to be killed to provide food for his family, but also to make sure there was enough food on hand for the livestock he did keep. In addition, he would need to think about the number of animals that he might get the following year when mothers dropped their young.

These days, most of us don’t have these worries because we probably don’t live on farms. We can still look during this time of year to see what needs to be culled from our own lives though.

Now is the time to do work to release those outworn ideas that once served a purpose, but are now holding us down. It’s the time to take a look at what is cluttering up our lives, whether they be physical objects or outworn habits. It’s time to do a bit of culling.

This doesn’t mean that it’s time to spend a few days bashing yourself over the head for every perceived fault. Even the most unhealthy habit or behaviour at one time served a purpose, though you may not remember any more what that purpose was.

When looking ask yourself – does this serve me in a healthy way? Does it bring me joy? Has it served its purpose? Then take the steps you need to cull what is no longer needed or wanted.

I won’t go into all the various systems and programs that can be followed, and there are many. Many people find success with Fly Lady or Side-Tracked Home Executive when it comes to decluttering. You may also look at support groups or professional help. Sometimes, habits and behaviours have become so ingrained that we don’t even realise we are doing them. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. And don’t be too ruthless either when deciding what needs to be culled. Remember, the careful farmer always made sure he kept enough breeding stock on hand to sustain the farm in the coming year.

When you are ready, you may want to do a small ceremony. This is one that you could adapt for your own circumstances.

Culling Spell

You will need:

A fireproof dish

A small piece of paper and pen

A candle and means to light it.

Prepare yourself in whatever way you wish beforehand. You may also want to light candles, clear the area with incense, and/or create a ritual circle.

When you are ready, sit with the tools before you.

Centre yourself, then state what it is that you wish to cull from your life. Write it down on the paper.

You may state these words, or some of your own choosing.

“Today I wish to release (this behaviour/habit/thought process) from my life. It has served its purpose (state what that purpose was if you know), but I have grown and it no longer serves me. I am grateful for the purpose it once had for me and release it now with gratitude and love. “

Light the paper and place it in the fireproof dish. Allow what you have released to be consumed by the flame while saying the following, or similar words of your own choosing:

“Peace surround me,

Light shine within me.

I release this now with gratitude and love.”

When finished sit quietly for a few minutes. Then take any remaining ashes from the paper and dispose of them someplace away from your home. Running water is ideal.

She changes everything she touches and
everything she touches, changes
She changes everything she touches and
everything she touches, changes
Change is, touch is; touch is, change is.
Change us, touch us; touch us, change us.
We are changers;
everything we touch can change.
We are changers;
everything we touch can change.

– Starhawk

I will freely admit, I don’t like change. I like my routines and I don’t like it when they have to be changed for any reason, at times to the detriment of my own health and well-being. In the midst of this dislike, I also know that change is an inevitable part of being alive. So why do we resist it so much? Why do we cling tight-fisted to ideas and rituals and beliefs that aren’t serving us?

Biology plays a big part here. Deep in the temporal lobe of our brain lies a small almond shaped cluster of cells called the amygdala. The full role and purpose of the amygdala is still not known, but it is believed that it is part of the limbic system where emotions and emotional responses, including fear and anxiety are generated, processed, and filed as memories in the brain.

Change can generate anxiety because it puts us into a new situation, and we don’t have a readily available emotional response for dealing with that new situation. For early humans, this would have been a protective mechanism. Routines and sameness kept them safe from harm. Those who ventured away from tribal or clan routines and rituals put themselves or clan members at risk.

Of course, we know that this anxiety around changes can be more or less pronounced in different people. It was a willingness or a desire that led those earliest groups of proto-humans to leave the African continent 1 million years ago, and continues to drive humans today as they venture into outer space. I have no desire to ever leave planet Earth, my youngest son on the other hand would love to become a xeno-anthropologist and have the opportunity to one day explore ancient civilizations on other planets. (That we have not yet actually discovered any ancient civilizations on other planets is only a minor deterrent in his dreams.)

So, if we have such a strong predilection towards sameness, why does change matter?

It matters because change is constantly going on all around us, and because sometimes sameness is not good for our well-being. All things are changing, constantly. Inside our bodies, cells are created and destroyed, rebuilding our entire selves over the course of a few years. Around us, the Earth moves through its seasons, things are born, and die. All in a never ending circle.

Yes, sameness and routine has been necessary over the centuries to keep us safe from harm, but refusal to change and refusal to adjust to changes can be just as harmful. Living things that can’t, or won’t, change will die. Ideas and beliefs and even languages that never change are dead.

Worse though, we can get caught up in a desperate attempt to pull everything back to “the way it used to be”. A prime example of this are the many religions today that are seeing dwindling congregations and finding that they are less relevant in people’s lives because they cannot let go of rules and ideas about human behaviour and social ethics that may have been true even 200 years ago, but are not held to be true by the majority of people today.

Change matters because without change we stop living. We stop growing. We stop becoming more fully complete and whole as human beings. Change matters because if we are not able to cast off old beliefs that no longer serve us, we will become stuck in an unending rut of growing unhappiness.

Everything Changes

One of the basic tenets of any nature-based religion is that things change. Those changes may be subtle, they may be difficult to see, but over time as we move through the seasons everything changes.

I am not the same person I was a year ago. And neither are you. I’m carrying a lot more grey hairs, a few more wrinkles. And a lot less emotional baggage.

Sometimes, we hang on to ideas or beliefs or emotions that don’t serve us, and don’t allow us to grow. That fear of change is what keeps us in abusive relationships, keeps us from finding a new job, and keeps us from pursuing a dream.

I found myself in just one of these ruts in recent years. When I separated from my ex-husband in 2012 my world was turned upside down. I had become so firmly entrenched in a life that was mentally and emotionally abusive that I couldn’t even recognise it as such.

I knew I was unhappy. I knew that I sometimes had strong urges and a desire to escape. My resistance to change kept me from doing something about it. Better to be unhappy in a marriage I knew than face an unknown.

created by NanLT

If my life hadn’t been shaken up, there’s a good chance I would still be there. Even then it wasn’t until I had been out of that marriage for over a year that I was able to recognise and admit that there had been abuse. And now, 3 years later, I am beginning to embrace life once again.

I’m not doing this without structure though. Because while I may be embracing changes and finding new understanding of how very constant change is, I am also becoming more fully aware of how important structure and routines are for me. It is these routines which provide the foundations and scaffolding through which change can occur.

public domain, Wikimedia commons

A good analogy which I have come across relates to weaving. Handmade woven cloth can be very colourful and creative. Weaving can be done on anything from a small table-top loom to larger looms taking up a room. Each works in the same way. Strong warp threads are placed lengthwise on the loom, and the creative weft threads are woven back and forth across the width.

If the warp threads are not strong enough to support the weft threads, the weaving will break apart.

This is how I am striving to create my life today. Daily routines for personal care, and personal spiritual practises provide the warp which supports my emotional and spiritual weft.

The result is an ongoing process. Sometimes, the warp breaks. Usually because I have neglected my routines. Sometimes, I realise that something I am weaving for myself isn’t what I want and I need to discard it.

This is where one of the biggest stumbling blocks would have been for me in the past, and I need to be aware of it in my present and future. That inability to step away from something that isn’t working because I am afraid of change.

I’m not doing all of this alone. Over time I have been pulling together an assortment of tools and support. I’ve been releasing trapped emotions and discovering my voice through various complementary and alternative healing techniques: shamanic journeying, Dr Bradley Nelson (Emotion Code), EFT and Reiki. I have been advocating for my needs and discovering my truth through the daily exercises of HeatherAsh Amara (Warrior Goddess Training), daily morning pages (The ist’s Way) and David Hamilton, PhD (I {heart} Me: The Science of Self-Love). Most important of all though is I am learning to be more forgiving and gentler towards myself.

What are you weaving in your own life today? Are there broken and unwanted threads that need to be snipped away or replaced?

Over the past month there is no doubt that the energy has been intense. Many believed that after December 21st things would settle down. Whether there was an anticipation of this becoming hum drum or quiet, then they were sorely mistaken.

Each full moon brings with it the truth of what is going on. It is the overwhelming sense that things of this nature are on the increase. There is that sense of two sides coming together however, it seems as though the puzzle pieces are taking their time to fall into place let alone provide any real clarity to the situation for many.

But this is not a bad thing. There is always a push and a pull, the ebb and flow of energy and life. However, this is becoming more pronounced due to certain areas requiring addressing that are becoming fundamental rather than a passing thought.

Ten; twenty years ago the thought of healing, health and helping others in a spiritual nature was there but it had a different approach. Anything that was ‘new age’ was treated as something inconsequential. Fortunately with the hype of last year the realisation that the ‘new age’ is simply the ‘old age’ in current times has helped bring with it the awareness that there is so much more going on than many can begin to fathom.

The next month will continue with its sense of to-ing and fro-ing but the extent will be up to each person individually. The dark energy, or as some like to refer to it as negative energy and then there is another version being the lower vibration of energy, is losing its grip. This is why there are more ghost hunter deaths, demon possessions, more paranormal disturbances but unfortunately many continue to seek the quick fix and go the cheap route rather than doing this properly. Hence the increase of issues as the dark energy is absorbing this as fast as it can. The eagerness is because light energy is pushing through. Whilst this isn’t anything unusual, the intensity of it has increased.

Many may now start to see their gifts becoming more pronounced. Unfortunately this also means there are more of those “experts” out there trying to make a buck on some person. But like anything fake and false, this cannot be sustained; much like dark energy.

These are praying on those that want the quick fix for a cheap cost and it is fascinating to watch this self sabotage at play. But like leading a horse to drink water the choice must be through free will and through free will alone.

There are a few that know what to do with possessions, dark energy, paranormal disturbances and there are only a few that are authentic experts. Look not for the hype but one that can back their claims with knowledge, experience and integrity. Everyone is a psychic but not everyone can do this under pressure and for the benefit of saving someone’s life when they don’t realise that this is how serious it can become very quickly.

It is a time of change, moreso than ever before. But… do not allow this to compromise on yourself, your integrity or your values because it will be you and your loved that will suffer. Sometimes it is worth taking a breath or doing some research. Sometimes it is worth realising that dark and light are governed by your free will in your world.

There are pivotal times where change seems more evident than at other times. There is no doubt that this time of year the winds are blowing strongly. Some may believe this is conducsive with 2012 however, upon reflection it is evident that it is that time of year.

Many fear change, believing that these winds will bring bad fortune however, if already plagued with unhappiness, financial worry and limitations around moving forward, can change be such a negative?

When talking about change from an energetic perspective it is similar to the change of the day to day. The only difference is that it affects all of those with a lifeforce. That includes plants, animals, insects, planets and the list goes on. In the shortened version – the collective.

Consider the affects of change on the butterfly affect. For some it is minor and almost no more than a ripple in the water; for others it is as though the storms are raging through every part of their being.

There was once a saying that experiencing change was almost as good as taking a holiday. Whilst logically the two are removed, consider what change can provide an opportunity to reflect, relax and rekindle relationships that may have suffered because of the day to day.

The winds of change are here. The weather is blatantly expressing that we can choose to ignore it, go with it or even fight it, but it is definitely here.

The shifts of now are intense and for some that means extreme leaps in their energetic transformation. For others it means that those friends that once were aligned are now no longer connected to you.

This is neither good nor bad; it simply is. The choice is always yours. Do you step up and engage in the energetic shift to allow yourself to evolve into the next level and enjoy the increased awareness? Or do you try to hold on to yesterday hoping that it will always be that way, knowing full well before even completing that thought process that things have already started changing.

If there was ever a time to align to your spiritual aspect, connecting to your higher-self and listening to what the universe has to share with you, then now is that time.

Soon the rain will come and wash away the debris of this change. For some there will be specks of dirt and for others there will be a mountain. When the rain comes feel the tears of yesterday wash away and feel renewed as eventually the plants respond, as will you.

For now change is here and when engaging in this energetic whirlwind; this incredible pull through the air, through our veins, within every living soul, it is mesmerizing and intoxicating. When the change passes, moving into the next stage of shifts and evolution what is left is the electrical magnetism to connect to all in the most simple and fundamental way, by being you.

If you haven’t taken advantage of what this year has to offer then as these winds make their presence known allow yourself to ride along and bask in the glory of energetic transformation into you; the natural, pure you.

Samhain is among many things a perfect time to commune with your ancestors, your spirits animals, any deities that you keep close to your spirit. The veil between the worlds is the thinnest on Samhain. Being that it’s the Celtic New Year one of my favorite things to do around this time is a working to help remove obstacles in my path, it’s similar to new year resolutions, but none the less fun! I’ve adapted this ritual to include one of my Patron Deities: Ganesh.

Lore:

Ganesh became lord of all existing beings after winning a contest against his brother Kartikay. When given the task to race around the universe, Ganesh did not race away like Kartikay did instead he simply walked around his mother and father, Shiva and Parvati, both being the source of all existence. Ganesh rides a rat that represents the conquered demon of vanity and insolence. The conch represents the sound that creates Akash (the basis and essence of all things in the material world). The laddu (sweet) represents the Sattva (essence). The snakes represent control over the poisons of passions and refer to Shiva. The hatchet cuts away the bondage of desire. The mudra grants fearlessness. (There are several depictions of Ganesh this is only one. Research will help you if you wish to incorporate some of the items he is holding into the ritual, i.e Conch, hatchet, etc…make beautiful altar decoration) Acceptance of Ganesh as the divine force silences the rational mind and its doubts, forcing one to look beyond outer appearances. Thus Ganesh creates the faith to remove obstacles, forcing one to look beyond form, removing doubts and pointing out the spiritual side of everything. Thus Ganesh is often worshipped to remove obstacles.

Purpose:

The purpose of this ritual is to prepare the body for the ending of the year, and to help remove obstacles from your path.

Colors:

White

Herbs:

Agrimony

Frankinscense Resin

Hyssop

Myrrh Resin

Rosemary

*The energies of these herbs lean toward purification, substitution of available herbs that are of the same energy is permissible.*

Tools:

A depiction (statue, picture, etc) of Lord Ganesh

Five tea light or preference of candles to make the circle

Three (You can use fewer or less as desired) tea lights to represent different obstacles

A white taper/jar candle to represent Ganesh

Ritual:

Begin by setting up your altar and circle. . (I like to put the picture or representation at the back northern part of the altar, the candle in the center, and the obstacle candles at the front of the altar closest to you.) For the purpose of this ritual one candle will represent anger, one will represent fear of change, and one will represent the unknowable obstacles that we create for ourselves. Also burn your incense as to purify the space and your body. This is going to be a fairly simple ritual. Once the circle candles are lit cast your circle. Once cast light the candle representing Ganesh. Raise your arms above the altar and Invoke Ganesh:

Aum

Elephant headed Lord Ganesh

I call upon your ancient power

Son of Shakti destroyer of grief

I bow to the lotus feet of ganesha lord of all

Aum

Whatever it is that you choose to have your candles represent as you focus on each one, clearly see in your mind’s eye exactly what those obstacles are. And as you blow the first one out, see the obstacle, picture leaving your body, leaving your life, You are allowing Ganesh to help remove your mind’s limitations to him, you are giving him control of your life, and releasing those things you can’t control. Once all three candles are blown out, thank Ganesh, and blow out his candle. Dismantle the altar and clear away the space. I like to leave out a bowl of water, or throw a piece of bread outside to leave an offering out.

For me I have a problem controlling my feelings, especially anger, I have small fear of change I can’t control, and the third is representing the obstacles we can’t see in our own life that hinder our spiritual growth. Keep in mind that some obstacles are dire for our spirits. This ritual is more for personal obstacles we create unnecessarily for ourselves.